Wasilla’s Layla Hays. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
In a stretch of about 6.5 minutes of first-half game time Friday night, Mylee Anderson failed to sink seven free-throw attempts. Six of those tries came after getting fouled while firing off a three-pointer.
Not exactly fodder for the basketball sizzle reel or whatever you crazy kids might call it over on TikTok these days. Thankfully, the Wasilla sophomore and her teammates proudly performed in many other facets of the game during the Class 4A March Madness Alaska state semifinals at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Anderson controlled much of the flow and finished with 22 points, six steals and four assists in the Warriors’ 48-40 victory over Northern Lights Conference nemesis Colony. A double-double waiting to happen when she first shows up in the gym, sophomore legit big Layla Hays added 10 points and 15 rebounds.
“After missing those (free throws), I told myself I had to get through it,” Anderson said. “I have to get back on defense, come through for my team and not think about myself.
“If I couldn’t get through that, then neither would my team.”
Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Wasilla’s win helped it improve to 24-4 and win a captivating season series with Matanuska-Susitna Valley rival Colony, 3-2. The Knights scored a 60-41 win on March 10 in the conference tournament semifinals. Plus, while it seems the two programs face one another at state nearly every year, all available archives said this was the first matchup since the Warriors won a 2016 quarterfinal matchup. The squads met in the state semifinals in 2012 and 2013.
Wasilla has now won 36 of the last 53 games between the schools dating back to January 2007.
Now, the Warriors get another crack at the juggernaut that is Anchorage Christian School. The Lions downed West in the day’s first 4A semifinal to set up a rematch of last season’s state finale. ACS won that one by a 71-42 count. The teams met twice during the regular season with the Lions winning twice by only an average 18.5 points – which is saying something during ACS’ 121-game romp past Alaska opponents since Feb. 9, 2018.
The Warriors know the task at hand. It’s a huge one that calls for four quarters of near perfection – no turnovers or missed layups.
“It definitely does,” Hays said. “We just have to go into it trying our hardest and really push ourselves.”
Wasilla also gets the unenviable chore of facing the state’s new leading scorer in ACS super senior Sayvia Sellers. Sellers scored 30 points against West and her 2,619 career points are now five more than former Dimond and current University of Utah sensation Alissa Pili.
“Honestly, it’s intimidating,” Anderson said. “But you have to really respect your opponent if you’re hoping to beat them.”
Colony coach Chandice Cronk. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
After trailing 5-4 early, Anderson’s basket with 5:10 left in the first quarter afforded Wasilla a lead it would never relinquish. Wasilla opened a 37-28 halftime edge before Colony (19-8) closed to as close as three points (43-40) with a minute remaining. Anderson helped seal the deal by making, of course, three of four free throws in the final 25 ticks.
But for the brief free-throw troubles, the teams played a smart, disciplined contest. You need look no further as to why than the two coaches – Wasilla legend Jeannie Hebert-Truax and her former Warriors guard and 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year, Chandice Cronk Kelly. Kelly is in her second season guiding the Knights. Both she and Hebert-Truax oozed confidence as Alaska high school players and command intelligence and tenacity as bench bosses.
Anderson said Wasilla used to run a play called “Cronk.” But the Warriors changed the name a while back.
“We had to change it out of respect, especially because we had to beat her (and Colony).”
ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
4A Girls State Championships
Friday
Semifinals
Anchorage Christian 81, West Anchorage 34
Wasilla 48, Colony 40
Consolation
Thunder Mountain 53, Dimond 47
Juneau-Douglas 51, Lathrop 42
Saturday’s schedule
Championship
5:30 p.m. – Wasilla vs. ACS
Consolation
Third place, 10:30 a.m. (auxiliary gym) – West vs. Colony
Fourth place, 10:30 a.m. (Seawolf Sports Complex) – Juneau-Douglas vs. Thunder Mountain